I remember when I first walked into Mayer's cavernous office. You had to walk 50 yards to get to him, and in that time he could really study everything about you.

Three events. Three gold medals. I was news, big news, in the sports world.

Everything about my teenage life was almost ideal.

By the time I got home at night, my eyes were so chlorinated I saw rings around every light.

What the public expects and what is healthy for an individual are two very different things.

I took a job at the pool in order to earn the five cents a day it cost to swim. I counted wet towels. As a bonus, I was allowed to swim during lunchtime.

I was 15, and the years of hard swimming had packed muscle on my frame and made me very strong. Not as strong as a football player, but strong enough to inflict heavy damage.